


clockwork

by nanodarlings (incendiarism)



Series: boys playing god [7]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Immortality, M/M, Murder, Trippy, Violence, Weird Dynamics, they're unhinged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23208826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incendiarism/pseuds/nanodarlings
Summary: All cards on the table, darling. Welcome to Wonderland.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin
Series: boys playing god [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642027
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33
Collections: violently tender





	clockwork

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boyeater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boyeater/gifts), [haesuns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/haesuns/gifts), [dimsum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimsum/gifts), [octie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/octie/gifts).



> [nervous laughter] this fic was not something i was actually planning on writing, or at least not anytime soon...but social distancing! has left me. with this? yeah. a chance to finally gift something to octhui i suppose! and also special shout-out to val for reading this over for me while i was having second thoughts!
> 
> as always, i do not condone murder or any of the dynamics present in this fic. this is a work of fiction. thank you for reading!

The place is hazy: dusty foliage canopied by a thin layer of motion blur and a jarring glare layered on top. Reality in decay, velvet and opaline rotting at his feet. Like film rolling—flickering static flashing at the edges of his vision and even the occasional blackout when the camera fails. 

Withered clouds that look more like whips of smoke hung over ramshackle buildings and fantastical architecture alike. Dusty sunlight, dirty sunlight piercing through when it can find the chance.

A constant wind in the cool air. The sky is blue—perhaps a bit too blue, a bit too vivid considering the storm that it carries. Everything saturated to the point where it all becomes incredibly sickening; everything stretched out like melting wax to the point where it all becomes horribly psychedelic.

Donghyuck pushes through the briars. They push back. Brambles prick at his flesh and leave behind angry red lines littered across his skin; thorns tear into his body like magnetic shards of broken glass, like robes hugging a saint.

Tick-tock.

You’re going to be late—maybe you already are. But it doesn’t mean anything, not in the long run, and you’re brazen and stubborn, boldness overflowing into foolishness even, courage sloshing into rash discardment of regards for your own life.

Keep going.

This is a chase. This is a manic pursuit: a wild machination to follow, to capture.

A thrilling lurch through the hallucination filled land—phantoms must be lurking about, after all. There’s no other explanation for the things that he’s seeing, the wretched movement of the thicket or the wicked shadows of the vale.

The briar ends.

A new setting: sweeping fields of lavender stalks amongst the overgrown greenery, the smell a sharp sting in his nose. Like some sort of perfume, but far too strong for his liking. A headache inducing sort of thing, ramming into his temples with a slow but continuous pace. Tick-tock.

It’s poisonous, a deadly sweet knife to the lungs. Hold your breath, suffocate even—it’s not like it matters.

What is a breath, really?

A breath is an extension of the human desire to stay alive, something written deep into the subconscious. And chasing Jaemin through the twisted landscape is borderline suicidal, so of course it makes sense to cut it off.

So, hold your breath, suspend your disbelief. Keep running.

Tangled foliage shoots up to catch Donghyuck in the legs, furious and demanding in its encroachment, and it would probably be wise to stop—but Jaemin is still up ahead; Jaemin is still getting further and further away.

So, what do you do in that situation? When the one you’re hunting keeps slipping away, when you keep falling behind? Why, _courage_ , love—you run even faster.

Another setting: this time cold and mechanical. Clockwork. Trembling hands, gears shifting all around, each tooth mashing into the next one. Gold and silver and bronze all melded together to form the wired framework of the automated trap.

Because it has a mind of its own really, dead-ends appearing from out of nothingness and corridors closing off behind you: almost as if it were designed specifically to drive your head around in circles. Everything’s just a half-step off; everything’s just slightly off-kilter—like an elaborate scheme to lead Donghyuck to his doom, and Jaemin is the bait.

Tick-tock. Your host awaits you. You wouldn’t want to be a rude guest now, would you?

Run. Closer. Closer—

Crown room. Royal castle. Tall stained glass windows split by arching twines of metal; painstakingly spun tapestries suspended on the intimidating walls.

Jaemin.

Perched atop the throne at the center of the room. Top hat, gleaming pocket-watch. Porcelain teacup. Chesire smile, bloody red and lined with far too many teeth to be normal. Executioner. Queen of Hearts.

All cards on the table, darling. Welcome to Wonderland.

The stuff of nightmares; the stuff of fever dreams.

Jaemin slides off his throne with ease, perfectly put together, and draws himself up in front of Donghyuck.

“Well, this certainly is a lovely surprise! And to what do I owe the honor of your esteemed presence?”

Mouth full of half-truths. Pink tongue wrapping around corroded words dripping with tar and spitting them out with ease.

“I wanted to visit my favorite murderer, of course, what else?”

“Me now?” Jaemin brings a hand up, presses it to his heart in mocking jest— “Why, it can’t be. I’m sure there’s someone else besides my humble self; you’re just being flattering.”

The cold of the gun Donghyuck holds presses into his hand. “Oh no, trust me. You’re the only one for me, dear.”

Jaemin laughs, bold and brilliant, and sinks into a low bow before him, charming as ever— “Well, in that case, Na Jaemin at your service.”

And Donghyuck could shoot him right now, point-blank. Empty a clip straight into his chest, watch the crimson blossom on Jaemin’s pristine white shirt with a twisted sense of satisfaction. Donghyuck could, but what fun would that be?

After all, it’d be only mere minutes— _or is it days? time has an odd way of flowing here_ —before he came back, as full of taunts and jeers as ever. Stretched out grin that never seems to die, blood that never seems to wash out.

Tick-tock. As long as the hands turn dutifully around the face of the clock, as long as the gears keep moving and Wonderland stays alive, so will they. Ipso facto, the chase never stops.

So, to shoot or not to shoot? End it here, quick and simple, or wait to draw it out? See what Jaemin does, see how the story unfurls this time around?

Every path leads to the same thing after all, feeds back into the same old cycle. 

They both know this. It’s why Jaemin’s so carefree; it’s why Donghyuck’s so reckless, all thought of consequence thrown to the wind.

Immortality is a curious thing—immortality in the face of bloodlust even more so.

Hand gently testing the trigger.

Jaemin rights himself, grins. Donghyuck raises his weapon.

“So, your move or mine?”

**Author's Note:**

> wonderland [waves hands around] am i right? :D
> 
> once again, thank you for reading! if you spot any errors, please tell me! any comments as well are greatly appreciated in the comments, on twitter, or on curious cat.
> 
> twt: [@nanodarlings](https://twitter.com/nanodarlings)  
> cc: [aphelions](https://curiouscat.me/aphelions)  
> 
> 
> [inspiration](https://hereinevitably.dreamwidth.org/4851.html)


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